Democratic Socialists (Rildanor)
|Seats2 Title = Canton governors |Seats2 = |Seats3 Title = Canton assemblies |Seats3 = |politics = Politics of Rildanor |political parties = Political parties in Rildanor |elections = Elections in Rildanor |party_logo = }} The Democratic Socialists (Canrillaise: Socialistes Démocratiques, SD) were a centre-left political party in the Republic of Rildanor. Founded in 3687, the first chairman of the SD was Vincent Achille. The party's precursor, the Meroixian Socialist Party, was originally only active in the island Canton of Meroix, and never participated in national elections; this changed, however, when the local party merged into a national electoral federation that would later become the Democratic Socialists. Until 3695 the party was known as the Socialist Left. In the 3689 legislative elections, the SD gained its first senators in the Senate of the Republic, including founder Achille. Eleven years later, under the leadership of its last leader Jean-Luc Martins, the party merged with a group of other leftist parties, thus losing its individual identity. History 'Origins' The Democratic Socialists trace their origins to the socialist and autonomist movements of the island of Meroix. The Meroixian Socialist Party was a medium-sized local party between the 3630s and 3686, when its leadership voted to merge with a variety of other smaller, leftist parties across the country. This ultimately led to the formation of the present-day Democratic Socialists. Vincent Achille was elected as national chairman of this new party during its founding congress. Between 3687 and 3695 the party's name was the Socialist Left. 'Breakthrough' The first major electoral success of the new party came in the 3689 elections, where the party received 10 seats in the legislature, and Achille received over 9 % of the vote in the presidential election. The SD joined a centrist coalition government shortly after, along with the Alliance of Democrats and the Canrillese Party; Achille went on to serve as minister of internal affairs in this cabinet. The Democratic Socialists experienced a further boost in the run-up to the 3691 elections; the party peaked at 31 % in an opinion poll conducted in January that year. In the election itself, the DS received 22.4 % of the vote, and 25 seats, becoming the country's second largest party. Their presidential candidate Vincent Achille came second in the first round of the election, but won a landslide victory in the second round with over 30 million votes – over 57 % of those cast. 'In government' Sofie Laurent of the SD was appointed Prime Minister in a coalition cabinet consisting of her party, the Alliance of Democrats and the Nationalist Party. The coalition held 53 seats in the Senate, against 52 for the opposition parties. Achille was re-elected in the next election, but he replaced the Alliance of Democrats with the Communist Party in his coalition, in order to retain a Senate majority. After his third consecutive victory in presidential elections, Achille appointed Jean-Luc Martins as the new Prime Minister in his cabinet in 3695. Following Martins' victory in the SD presidential primary elections in 3696, the latter went on to win the 3697 national presidential elections as well. The SD itself grew to its strongest position ever at that time, with over 30 % of the vote, which granted the party 34 seats in the Senate. The coalition with the Communists and the Nationalists continued under Martins' leadership. On President Martins' initiative, the three coalition partners adopted a rotational system for choosing the cabinet's prime minister, with the parties taking turns, each lasting a full Senate term, for the prime ministership. This was possible thanks to the coalition's dominance in this period. As a result, a Communist served as prime minister directly after 3697. A few years after the initiation of this pact, the SD opted to merge with other leftist parties, in order to effectivise the governing coalition. As a result, the party gave up its independence and, in pracrice, ceased to exist. Electoral history 'Presidential elections' 'Legislative elections' Prominent members 'Chairpersons' *Vincent Achille (3687 – 3696) *Jean-Luc Martins (3696 – 3700) 'Presidents of the Republic' *Vincent Achille (3691 – 3697) *Jean-Luc Martins (3697 – 3701) 'Prime Ministers' *Sofie Laurent (3691 – 3695) *Jean-Luc Martins (3695 – 3607) Category:Political parties in Rildanor Category:Rildanor Category:Politics of Rildanor